Students from all over North Carolina gathered at Camp Caraway for a weekend of German immersion. The task for the weekend was for students in Ms. Sampinato’s German classes to speak only in German.

Spampinato was the head organizer this year. Spampinato, along with other German teachers, planned the events. This year’s theme was Sport Games and Fun. Fifty-three students participated this year and were broken up into groups upon arrival.

“We break up students ahead of time into groups, this year we had nine groups based on the numbers, so students from different schools get to know each other so they don’t just speak with students from their school,” said Spampinato.
The students got to play games like tennis and soccer, as well as dancing games.

“We had all kinds of sports,” said Laurie Diggett, German III student. “We had all kinds of board games, and we had a big competition of Taboo with all the schools.”

At the end of the weekend there was a big trivia competition between the schools.

“At the end we had a big quiz bowl, which in my opinion; Wakefield should have won,” said Diggett.

German immersion weekend happens every year. Many students look forward to the trip next year.

“I plan to go back next year because it was fun and it was an experience I want to have again,” said Diggett.
Some students love to go so much that they want to go back even after they graduate.

“I loved it, it is an incredible time to be able to communicate with other people that speak German and do activities that Germans do. I plan to go back next year. I would keep going back if I could, but it’s only for high school students,” said Devan Dannenbery, German III student.

The immersion weekend is really important to not only the teachers that create it but also to the students that choose to participate in it.

“It’s important to us because if you can’t afford to study abroad it shows us how it’s like to speak German all the time,” said Diggett. “Yes, if you go to Germany they speak English too but the experience of studying abroad is needing to speak German. They give you a host family that they expect you to speak German with. This is like a more inexpensive way to get the feeling of studying abroad.”

Not only is it important to the students but they find it really fun and enjoyable. They can’t wait to see all their friends from the others schools the next year. Some also use the immersion weekend as a way to test and see if they want to go study abroad.

“I have considered and thought about studying abroad,” said Diggett. “I feel like I have more confidence in my speaking now that I could get through to a native speaker even though my accent is pretty bad.”